RECOMMENDATIONS to Cyril Ramaphosa in the build-up to the election of a new Chief Justice seem farcical. There will be those in the nomination process who will have personal reasons for throwing a name into the hat.
How many were thinking about the judicial process and the effect the appointment will have on the rule of law? The shouting match between Julius Malema and the Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola speaks to the lunacy of this nomination platform.
Furthermore, the choice of a female Chief Justice by majority vote, while taking nothing away from a super efficient applicant in Mandisa Maya, it nevertheless suggests a politically correct choice rather than looking at the experience and wisdom, for example, of a man like Raymond Zondo who has fought in the judicial trenches his entire life and earned his stripes from his bootstraps up.
The question CR needs to ask himself when he makes his choice is who stands to benefit by the appointment. Is it the country? Is it the people? The judicial system? The rule of law? Protection of the Constitution? Or will the appointment benefit certain factions of the ANC, certain people, certain organisations, fringe political parties etc.
CR needs to ignore the peanut gallery and choose the best person for the job while remembering that this isn’t a popularity contest but that his choice will affect the destiny of the country.
COLIN BOSMAN | Newlands
Daily News